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Council tax can be hiked by up to 3 per cent this year, in line with inflation, before a referendum is triggered, while authorities can also levy an additional “precept” to raise money for spending on social care.

The greatest immediate pressure on budgets has come in children’s services (nearly 32 per cent of councils), followed by adult social care (nearly 28 per cent), and housing and homelessness (19 per cent).

Adult social care was the greatest long-term pressure (nearly 38 per cent), a survey said.

Surrey, Britain’s richest county, is among the worst hit in the country and Bureau of Investigative Journalism documents warn its county council faces a £105m funding gap, the equivalent to a 12.8 per cent increase.

A Surrey County Council spokesman said: “We’ve agreed a three-year budget despite the severe financial pressure we – and councils across the country – are under due to rising demand for our services and falling government funding.

“We’ve been successfully managing the growing need for adult social care, children’s and other key services partly through making savings of £540m since 2010 and have made sure we keep within our overall budget.”